Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a blinding disease that afflicts 5-11% of patients that undergo surgery to correct a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. There are between 1,700 and 3,700 cases of PVR annually in the US. The current treatment for PVR is repeat surgery, which is anatomically successful in only 60-80% of cases, and the procedure carries the risk of recurrence. Prior to the invention described herein, efforts to identify non-surgical. i.e., pharmacological, approaches to treat PVR have not been successful. Thus, there is a pressing need for new therapy options for individuals who are afflicted by this blinding disease.